Relying on Flash Fiction

If flash fiction didn’t exist, I’m not sure what I would do. I probably have invented it myself, if only as a writing tool. When I can’t get my longer writings to work as I had hoped, I have two choices; give up or write a piece of flash fiction. Many of these pieces I end up throwing away, but it doesn’t matter. Writing a few hundred words on a random topic oils the prose and gets it flowing again. Terrible ideas are discarded and new ones take their place. All of this thanks to tiny little pieces of writing that almost nobody reads.

I often wonder what other writers do when they are unhappy with something they are working on. Do they just plod through it? I find I can’t take that approach. I have to leave what I’m writing and work on something else.  In my current situation, this means writing many other short works. It’s frustrating to be so close to the end of the first draft of “Null City” and not be able to complete it. I’m not satisfied with the penultimate chapter which has stopped me from writing the last chapter.

While I’m hoping for a breakthrough, I’ll keep writing flash fiction.